(Davis, Jefferson)

Autograph letter signed by Nelson A. Miles, 2 pages (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 248 x 196 mm) on a bifolium of blue-ruled stationery, Headquarters Military District, Fort Monroe, 22 August 1865, evidently to Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend; light soiling, short fold separations.

Autograph letter signed by Nelson A. Miles, 2 pages (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 248 x 196 mm) on a bifolium of blue-ruled stationery, Headquarters Military District, Fort Monroe, 22 August 1865, evidently to Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend; light soiling, short fold separations.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A report from Jefferson Davis's jailer. After Federal cavalry captured Davis in Georgia in May 1865, he was imprisoned in a damp cell at Fort Monroe, Virginia, under the custody of Nelson Miles, a brigadier general of volunteers. Perhaps directed by Secretary of War Stanton, perhaps of his own volition, Miles's treatment of Davis was extremely harsh. He was initially kept in leg-irons (removed after five days), with federal guards inside his cell; the guards were under orders not to speak with the prisoner.

Inevitably, Davis's health began to deteriorate, and as the conditions of his incarceration became known, newspapers in both the North and South began to agitate for better treatment for the former Confederate leader. Miles came in for much criticism, although he maintained that all of the measures he employed were necessary to maintain military discipline. He was relieved of his duty after sixteen months, receiving a commission as a colonel in the regular army and became one of the principal figures of the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s. As for Davis, he remained in another nine months, eventually being released without any federal prosecution. Miles's callous treatment of Davis, intended to humiliate the rebel president, probably hastened his release.

The present report dates from quite early in Davis incarceration. "I have the honor to state that the prisoner 'Davis' is feeling quite comfortable this morning, complaining a little however of reysipalas in the face and a carbincle on his leg. I also enclose a communication from Clay to the 'Sec of War' together with a letter to his wife which he desires, forwarded [not present]. In regard to the Sentinels, when they were taken out of his room he said they did not disturb or waken him, lately they have been required to make as little noise as possible and not to walk around in the room. I do not think it possible for him to escape, even if the sentinels are taken out of the front room, he will still be under two locks, aside from the guard in front of his cell."